


Where the demons of my past leave me in peace

by transitioning_laufeyson



Series: If You Love Me Let Me Go [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Author Is Sleep Deprived, Clint Barton Is a Good Bro, Forced Marriage, Forced Pregnancy, Genderfluid Loki (Marvel), Hurt/Comfort, I have school in the morning, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, M/M, Mpreg, Post Mpreg, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pregnant Loki, The Author Regrets Everything, The Author Regrets Nothing, Thor is a dick, Tony Stark Has A Heart, oh the angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-19
Updated: 2018-02-16
Packaged: 2019-02-04 18:39:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 15
Words: 15,993
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12777018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transitioning_laufeyson/pseuds/transitioning_laufeyson
Summary: Loki’s punishment after the destruction of New York is a bit different. Eventually they escape along with their three children, but the escape plan goes a bit wrong.Tony has spent the past seven years after New York and Sokovia recovering, but when a god smashes through his window, his plan to live a relatively calm life goes a bit squiff.(I’m bad at summaries, honestly you’re better off reading the tags)





	1. A rough beginning

**Author's Note:**

> There will be some triggery type things in this and I will leave warnings in the notes

When Loki Laufeyson smashed through his window with three children in tow, he thought he was hallucinating. He was not, however, so it went something like this:

**SMASH**

“Woah, FRIDAY, what the fuck was that?”

“It appears, sir, that a being has landed in the sitting room.”

“Great.” Tony got up, went upstairs, and saw someone who he thought was on Asgard being punished for their crimes. Loki Laufeyson was lying on the floor with three children.

“Well that ended well, didn’t it, guys?” They said, sitting up. Tony could see scars on Loki’s arms. He didn’t react yet, wondering what they would do. There was two girls and one boy. One of the girls had blonde hair and striking green eyes and wore a long blue dress with a belt around it and sandals. The boy was very similar, with a blue tunic and sandals. The other girl was very small, with pale teal hair and blue eyes.

Loki suddenly became aware that there was another person in the room. “Oh, it’s you,” they said, pulling the children closer to them.

“Why are you here?” Tony asked.

“Help me up and I’ll tell you,” Loki replied. Tony figured nothing that bad could happen because FRIDAY hadn’t recommended calling the Avengers or Fury or anything like that. “I need some food as well, me and my children haven’t eaten since last night.”

“Uh, okay then,” Tony said, helping him up. The kids got up as well. “This way.” He led the way to the kitchen. He gestured to the table and Loki sat down. The children looked as though they were at a loss as to where they should sit.

“Sophie, sit here,” Loki said, gesturing to the seat beside him. She sat, and the boy sat next to her, and the younger one sat on the other side. Tony ignored the weirdness of his situation and focused on getting food for them. He grabbed some bread, some chicken and cut some tomatoes. He made some sandwiches and put them on the table in front of Loki.

“Thank you, Stark,” Loki said. The kids sat there like a bunch of robots until Loki took one and started to eat.

Tony sat down opposite Loki. Now that he could see Loki in full light, he was surprised at how much Loki had changed. Last time they had met, Loki was leaning more towards the male side of the appearance spectrum. Now, Loki had longer hair, just past his ribs. They was wearing a green tunic and black leggings. They looked a lot more... androgynous. They looked very thin. “Now, care to tell me what’s going on?”

“These are my children,” they said. “Sophie and Steven,” they said, gesturing to the twins, “And Theodora, my youngest. We came here from Asgard. I couldn’t take being there anymore, and I felt it would be better to bring them with me.”

As Loki finished their story Theodora began to yawn. Loki smiled at her and asked, “Stark, have you any spare rooms that my children could sleep in?”

~~~~~~~~~~

Once the children were asleep in one of the spare rooms and Tony had made a mental note to find what schools were in the area, Tony sat with Loki in the dining room, due to the fact that the window had been smashed a few hours earlier. Now that the children were not around, Loki drew their knees to their chest and rested their head on it. Tony had told somebody to go and get some clothes for the new arrivals and Loki had already changed. They were wearing a loose t-shirt and shorts. Tony could see scars on Loki’s arms as well.

“Hey, Reindeer Games.” Loki looked up. They had been crying. “Yes, Stark?”

“What happened to you?”


	2. Give me a chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning:  
> Rape  
> Domestic violence

Loki took a deep breath.

“You wish to hear of my punishment in Asgard and why I have three young children?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Very well.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Seven years previously

When Loki arrives back on Asgard, they were chained and led to the main hall. Odin, Frigga and Thor were sitting on thrones below the stained glass windows. Odin looked angry, Thor looked like he wanted to be anywhere else and Frigga... Loki’s mother had tears running down her face. She was gripping the armrests of her seat. Loki made eye contact with her and nodded, and with that the trial began.

“Order, Order,” Odin cried. The hall was silent immediately. “We are here today to try Loki Laufeyson for the attempted takeover of Midgard and the murder of innocent Midgardians.

“Typically the penalty for this is death, unless someone is willing to give mercy?” Thor stepped forward. This had clearly been planned.

“I am willing to take charge of Loki as my spouse,” he said. A collective gasp went through the audience. “This would entail treating them as my wife, and it is a good enough punishment for the loss of the life on Midgard.” Thor made eye contact with Loki. Yes, this was definitely planned.

“Are there any objections to the decision made?” Odin asked the people, as if daring them to say anything. They didn’t, of course, so Loki was led away.

Loki was standing in a room alone when their chains were removed and a bracelet was put on their wrist. Loki could guess what it was.

A gaggle of women came in carrying various bundles of clothing. One of them gave them something to drink, which they did. Immediately Loki felt their body change. They were more feminine now, with defined hips and breasts.

“Lady Loki?” One of the women asked. She was more of a girl really. “We are here to give you some clothes to wear. Do you wish to pick some?”

“Uh, yes please.” Loki even sounded like a woman, and the girl had called her Lady, so they guessed they were a girl now.  
Loki looked through some dresses until she found a light green one that she liked. After her old clothes were removed, the dress was pulled over her head. It had long sleeves and went down to her ankles.

While this was happening Loki was talking with the young girl, whose name she found was Lin.

“How old are you?” Loki asked her.

“Nearly 17. I’m getting married next month.” Lin looked at Loki. “How are you so calm? You just found out that you’ll have to marry your brother and bear his children. Why are you not upset?”

“I think it just hasn’t sunk in yet. Do not worry, little one, it will eventually.”

Loki was now dressed, and a soldier came to take her to her quarters. They were, noticeably, not her quarters, but Thor’s. She sat on the bed and waited.

After about an hour, Thor entered the room. Loki stood up, but did not move away from the bed. Thor looked at Loki, removed his cloak and his boots. Loki was suddenly aware of how uncomfortable she was. Thor approached her, stopping as they were almost touching. Thor took Loki’s wrists. Loki fought against it until Thor got tired of it and captured Loki’s lips in a bruising, possessive kiss.

When Thor broke the kiss, he spoke. “Maybe after this you will be quicker to follow orders,” he said. Thor pushed Loki down onto the bed, pushing up her skirt, while Loki was kicking her legs in a futile attempt to escape her fate. Thor growled and used his belt to tie Loki’s wrists together, then settling between her legs.

He undid his trousers and released his rapidly hardening cock. Loki started kicking and screaming, only for Thor to grip her thighs and bury himself in her in one hard thrust. Loki squirmed at the intrusion, crying out with pain. Thor covered her mouth with one hand and quickened the pace, until he came inside of her with a grunt. He removed his hand from her mouth and untied her wrists, but he did not pull out of her until they were in a position to go to sleep in, as the daylight was rapidly fading. Loki fell asleep with Thor still inside of her, and he only pulled out when he was about to fall asleep, many hours later.

The days continued like this, when Thor returned from training he would fuck her, and it continued like this until she conceived. When she did, Thor and Loki were married, and Loki had nowhere to go. She spent time talking with Lin, who was also pregnant, by the hands of her loving husband.

If Loki stepped out of line, she would be beaten or worse. If Thor was especially angry, he would take a knife and carve words into her skin.

9 months later, Loki gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl, whom Thor named Sophie and Steven, and raised as the firstborn of Asgard should be, lessons on combat came first, and everything else was a second.

Two years later, Loki gave birth to another girl, who she got to name Theodora. She was the second born, so her education was not a priority. Theodora spent time on the balcony with Loki learning how to use her seider, and she became able to change the colour of her hair as she wished.

Once, Thor was called away for a few weeks to fight on Midgard. When he returned, there was many days of feasting to celebrate his victory. Loki took the opportunity during the relative chaos to take her children to the woods for a day. Thor discovered the absence of his wife and three children, and she was beaten.

When Thor was away on a hunting trip about a year later, Loki took the opportunity to leave, with the help of Frigga and Lin. Loki shifted back to her androgynous form. They convinced Heimdall to let them use the Bifrost to leave Asgard for Earth, but something went wrong, resulting in their rough landing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Present day

Loki finished their story, looking to see Stark’s reaction.

He took a breath.

“I want to kill Thor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don’t count on updates every day. I don’t think it’ll take longer than a week to get chapters up.  
> Thanks for reading!


	3. Pepper’s Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pepper’s day was quite odd.

“I want to kill Thor.”

When Tony said this, Loki started laughing. They looked a lot better when they were laughing. Good, even. Not that Tony would go for it. They were crying less than an hour ago, and it doesn’t sound like they had a good love life up til now.

“I’d do that as well, if I could. But if he saw me, he’d probably bring me back to Asgard and I’d never leave.”

Tony didn’t like the sound of that. “How’d you end up here anyway?”

Loki pulled a face. “I don’t know, maybe something went wrong on the other end. We were meant to land in New York.”

“Why New York?”

“Because it is easier to blend into the crowd there. I could easily get a job and leave it all behind.”

“But that didn’t happen, so you landed here?”

“Yes.”

Tony got up and stretched. “Well, I’m going to bed. Your room is on the right of mine. Have a good sleep, Reindeer Games.”

“Wait.”

Tony turned back to Loki. “I can’t handle being alone for long. Could you stay with me?”

“Okay,” he said, “ we can watch some movies if you want?”

“Alright.”

So that was how Tony and Loki ended up watching Pirates Of the Caribbean with blankets and popcorn until 3 in the morning, by which point Loki was yawning. Tony switched off the movie, and they both went to bed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Tony? Tony! Tony, this is an emergency! Loki is in the house!” Tony opened his eyes to see Pepper yelling at him.

“Oh, morning Pepper, what’s up?”

“I’ll tell you what’s up, an international criminal is in your house! I’ve called Steve and he’ll be here in less than five minutes.”

“Oh fuck, Pepper, where are they?” Tony got out of bed and pulled on a t-shirt and some trousers.

“I’m sorry sir, but-“

“FRIDAY, mute,” said Pepper. “They’re in the living room. I tazed then so they’ll be out for about two more minutes. I’ve tied them up as well.”

Tony glared at her and moved to the living room, where, as she said, Loki was lying on the couch with their hands tied. He immediately went to untie them, but Pepper held him back.

“Tony, leave them. I think they kidnapped some kids or something, because they were in the same room as them.”

“Oh shit, I forgot about them.” Tony moved to their room and gently shook the children awake. “Hey, you need to get up, there are going to be some people here in a minute, can you guys he up and dressed in 5 minutes?” The children got up and they got changed almost methodically as Tony left the room.

“What do you think’s going on?” Theodora asked Sophie.

  
“I don’t know, but Mother’s not here anymore. Let’s just put our clothes on and see what’s going to happen,” Steven said. Sophie pulled her dress over her head. “Anyway, let’s do as Mr Stark said.” She helped Theodora put her dress on and took her hand.

“Come on, let’s go.”

When they entered the sitting room, Mr Stark was having an argument with a ginger lady. When Mr Stark saw them, he turned to them and said, “Kids, this is Pepper. I need to talk to you. Let’s get some breakfast and we can discuss over that.” At the time, they didn’t even notice that their mother was lying on the sofa with her hands tied.

Tony made the kids some scrambled eggs. “So, do you guys know anything about your mother really?”

“Only that they’re always lonely and that Father is mean to her,” Steven said. Yeah, no shit, thought Tony.

“Well, before that, your mom did some bad things that maybe weren’t that nice. People don’t like them very much here.”

“People don’t like them much on Asgard either.” Theodora replied.

“Well, there is a group of people on Earth who make sure that no one tries to harm the Earth, like they tried to. Pepper doesn’t know what we know, so she called them. They’ll be here soon, so just try to stay out of the way and don’t say anything stupid.”

“Okay,” Steven replied. Man, what happened to these kids to make them so agreeable? It was creeping Tony out.

The doorbell rang. “Open up, or we’re breaking the door down.”

Tony sighed and got up. “Okay, okay, geez.” Tony opened the door and stood aside as the soldiers flooded into his house. He saw a flash of blue and grabbed Steve by the arm.

“Steve, we need to talk.” Tony led Steve to the sitting room, where Loki was tied up and the soldiers were pointing guns at them. Steve went to go to them but Tony caught his arm.

“Let me explain.”

“You can explain at headquarters why you are defending an international criminal, Tony, are you mad?”

“Look, Steve, Loki crashes through my window with three children and I can’t just do nothing!”

“Three children?” Steve looked confused.

“Oh yeah, kids!” The children came into the room and Steve’s face went from confused to completely bewildered.

“These are Loki’s kids?”

“Yes, and you can’t just-“ at that point Steve cut him off.

“I’m sorry, Tony, but you’ll have to explain it to Fury. I don’t have time for this.”

Steve nodded to the soldiers and they lifted up Loki. He led Tony to the van outside, the soldiers followed with Loki.

As Tony turned to look behind him, he saw Pepper leading the children to her car, where they all got in and waited for the van to leave. He had told Pepper everything, and they had agreed that if they had to go to headquarters, Pepper and Happy would take the kids in the car and follow them there.

~~~~~~~~~~~

  
When they got to headquarters, they exited the car and were greeted by Vision and Wanda.  
“What is going on?” Wanda asked nervously.

“I’m sure Tony can explain everything,” Pepper said reassuringly. She and Bruce led the children to a room where Loki was tied to a chair and Tony and Clint were in a massive argument, with Steve and Natasha watching from the sidelines.

Yeah, Pepper was having a weird day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took me longer than usual because I had a swimming gala and I lost my school skirt.  
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Shit goes down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Read the title

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was up till 3am writing this

When Tony got in the van, Loki was tied to a chair. Steve took Tony’s arm and directed him to a seat on one of the benches, while Tony glared daggers at him. Steve took the seat next to him and they ignored each other the entire journey.

Fifteen minutes later, when they had arrived, they were taken to a conference room where, once again, Loki was tied up. Tony went to untie him, but Steve held him back.

“Tony, don’t you dare,” he said.  
“Dare what?” Said Natasha, entering the room. “Oh, it’s Loki.” she took the seat opposite Tony. “I’m listening,” she said.

“Well, yesterday afternoon, Loki crashed into my living room. They have three kids, from.. someone,” here Tony pulled a face. Thor was a dick, that was for sure. Tony would die before Loki had to go back to that monster. The children deserved better. Maybe I could set Loki up with Rogers, he though ruefully. That idea was stupid. They would be lucky if Loki wasn’t immediately sent back to Asgard.

  
“They asked for a place to stay. They were running from their punishment on Asgard. It wasn’t exactly... humane.” Tony took a deep breath. He shouldn’t be telling them this, Loki should be, but he had a bad feeling that they wouldn’t listen to Loki, rape victim or no.

  
“They didn’t do anything wrong, or try to kill me, so I figured, whatever, let them stay and I can make them leave if I have to, but yeah, they’ve got children. Steve, we should untie them. I don’t think we should punish them for just trying to escape their punishment.”

“Fury can be the judge of that,” Natasha said. “I’m willing to listen to them, and if Clint tries anything, I’ll hold him off.”

“Thanks, Natasha,” Tony said.

“Hey guys, I heard something was going on so-OH MY GOD! What in the fuck is Loki doing here?” Clint walked into the room, almost immediately nocking an arrow to kill the unconscious god.

“Don’t shoot!” Tony yelled.

“Give me one good reason for me to not immediately kill this bastard,” Clint said, lowering the bow slightly.

“Why would you need a reason to not kill someone?” Tony asked. “They’ve done nothing to deserve that treatment.”

“They’ve killed people!” Clint yelled back. “The reason they were in Asgard was that they were to be punished! We should just send them back there!”

At that moment, Pepper, Wanda and Vision entered, along with the three kids.

“And who in the hell are these guys?” Clint was losing it. He was breathing fast and his heart was beating a mile a minute. The children hid behind Pepper and Wanda.

“Guys, these are Loki’s kids. Clint, don’t shoot, please,” Tony said. At that time, Loki woke up. They began breathing quickly and fighting against their bonds.

Tony rushed to them. “Hey, Reindeer Games, look at me. Look at me.” Tony tilted their head upwards and Loki looked into his eyes, quickly calming down. They were shaking and Tony wanted nothing more than to take them away from there.

“Mama!” Theodora cried, running towards her. She flung an arm around her leg and hid her face in Loki’s leggings. Loki started crying. Before anyone else could think, Tony took the opportunity to untie Loki’s bonds. Loki lifted up Theodora and hugged her close. Clint made a move to step towards them, but Natasha put an arm in front of him.

Tony was surprised that Natasha would support his decision. He fully expected that she would back Clint. He fully expected Clint’s reaction, and Steve had stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal. He was glad that Loki was alright. God knows what he would do if he was tased and tied up in a chair somewhere.

And Director Fury took that wonderful opportunity to come bursting in the door.

“What in the hell is going on in here?” Phil slipped in behind him, as silently as possible. Loki stood up, Theodora in their arms. Tony was wondering if his day could get any worse. Loki walked forward, stretching out a hand.

“Director Fury, allow me to apologise for my earlier actions. I wasn’t exactly thinking straight.” Fury stuttered for a second, looked at Pepper, the twins, and just shook his head. He turned to Phil, who just shook his head and shrugged.

"Right, let's just sit down and talk."

They took their seats, Director Fury at the head of the table. Phil was on his right, next to Tony, who was in turn next to the twins, who were on one seat, Loki and Theo. On his other side was Clint, Natasha and Steve. Vision and Wanda sat opposite each other, exchanging a look.

"So, Loki, why are you here?" Fury asked. He looked very confused.

"I have come here with my children to ensure our safety. My punishment has tormented me for long enough.” Loki looked at their children. “Must I discuss this with my children present?”

”I’ll take them outside,” Pepper said. Once the children had left, Pepper continued.

"My punishment was to marry Thor, and to bear his children, which I have done, much to my chagrin. A few days ago he left Asgard on a hunting trip, and I took the opportunity to leave my old home. The plan was to land in New York, but something went wrong, so I ended up landing in Stark's living room."

Here Loki took a shaky breath, it was hard for them to say all of this, to tell these people all that had happened over the past seven years.

Clint, apparently had something to say. "You deserved it."

"Wait, what?" Phil had an issue with that, apparently. ”Nobody deserves that. Maybe they did some pretty fucking awful things in the past, but that”s different now."

”He fucking stabbed you, Phil!”

”Yeah, but I’m not gonna say it’s okay to rape him because of it!”

Fury put a hand on his shoulder before continuing. "Right, so now that we've heard the story, what do we think should happen?"

Clint went to speak. "I think that-"

"One at a time, Agent Barton. Phil, what do you think?"

"Seven years of rape is enough punishment for their crimes. We should pardon them. They can stay with Tony, him and Pepper can keep an eye on them and their kids."

"Tony?"

"I agree with Phil."

"Your turn, Rogers."

"We should incarcerate them here. I think they should still be punished for what they did, but what Thor did was barbaric. The children can go to a home or something."

"Natasha?"

"I agree with Phil. That was a terrible thing to do."

”Wanda? Vision?”

”I wasn’t at the battle. I don’t think it’s right for me to have an opinion on this,” Wanda said.

”I don’t foresee them being a threat,” Vision said. “I agree with Agent Coulson.”

"Agent Barton, we are already aware of your opinion on the matter. However, I also agree with Rogers, but Phil's decision has been voted a majority. They can stay with Tony. We will keep an eye on them, and it would be best for the children to go to a school nearby. I can think of someone to stay in the house, just to make sure."

Clint scowled, but Natasha elbowed him and they glared at each other.

"Right, meeting adjourned. We can discuss further details at a later date, such as citizenship and trackers. Tony, why don't you and your newfound family go and grab some breakfast."

Gradually the people filtered out. The only people left were Director Fury and Agent Coulson, who still had things to discuss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Uploading schedule! Hopefully either every Wednesday or Thursday.  
> Please leave kudos and comments!


	5. Agent Conley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phil is angry, ladies and gentlemen!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was painful.

Phil knew his answer before Nick opened his mouth.

“No.”

“Phil-“

“No!”

“Babe-“

“No! I know wha you want to ask me and the answer is no! Our daughter will not become a part of this crazy game. Naomi has only just turned seventeen!”

Nick grabbed his husband’s hands. “Phil. If Loki gets to walk free, then I want someone I trust to watch them. Naomi is trained in combat. If anything happens to her, blame it on me.”

Phil wrestled his hands away. “I will.” Nick looked unimpressed and he pulled Phil into a tight hug. He didn’t like Loki, honestly. He didn’t trust them. But after what they had said, and what the final decision was, he had to let them have their chance, at least until he could decide wether they could be truly trusted or not. They released each other from the tight embrace, and went about the rest of their day as well as they could, after that revelation.

~~~~~~~~~

The drive back to Tony’s house was awkwardly quiet. Happy was driving, Tony in the passenger seat and Pepper was in the back with Loki and the kids. Tony was mad at Pepper for calling Steve. She didn’t even ask Tony first. She just straight up called them. He glared at her the entire way back, while she ignored him. Loki was in the back, talking to their children about what they had just witnessed. The children seemed oddly calm about the whole thing, which Tony found strange. He told himself to ask them about it later.

When they arrived back at the house, Tony got out of the car silently, without a word to Pepper, but as he walked towards the house, he could hear Loki thanking her. Tony was surprised that they were so calm about it. If he had woken up in a strange room with people shouting, he would have freaked out. He was also surprised at how quickly they had changed from an arrogant royal into a humble mother with three children.

He unlocked the door and allowed Sophie, Steven and Theodora enter the house first. Tony was glad that he had remembered to ask a guy to repair the window, because the kids apparently preferred to sit in the lounge together and talk. Tony turned and smiled at Loki, who, he realised, probably hadn’t had any food since the night before, and it was almost 12 o’clock.

“We should probably get some food, right?” He asked.

“Uh, yes,” Loki stuttered. Tony didn’t question the stutter and led the way to the kitchen.

 

Loki genuinely didn’t understand Stark’s kindness. He was being nice to them, but they had killed so many people. It seemed as though Stark didn’t care about it, he just wanted to be friends.

When they got to the kitchen, Loki took a seat at the kitchen table, and Tony opened the fridge, smiling when he realised that there was fast food in the fridge.

“Yeeeees. Hey Loki, you ever had a cheeseburger before?” Loki was very confused, why would a piece of meat between bread be so worth praise? They didn’t respond so Tony put it in front of them and sat opposite. Loki picked it up and looked at it. They pondered for a second before biting into it. Their eyes widened, and Tony smirked. They obviously liked it then.

Loki’s mouth was an explosion of flavour. It might be greasy and full of ketchup, but it was good, and the cheese enhanced the flavour. Loki quickly finished chewing that bit, then quickly ate the rest of it. Tony was shocked at how quickly they ate it, but moved past it and ate his own.

When Loki finished their burger, they wiped their mouth on their hand and smiled at him. Tony smiled back and they both reached for the napkins that were on the table at the same time. Their hands touched momentarily and Tony looked up at Loki, who was blushing and looking away. Tony passed a napkin to them and they took it, quickly wiping their hands and standing up.

Tony thought they would leave, but instead they took the plates and washed them at the sink, blush slowly subsiding. Tony was left to sit and contemplate what had just happened. He couldn’t ignore the fact that he had liked that short, small touch.

“Sir, Agent Coulson is here,” FRIDAY abruptly said.

“Fuck. We’ve been home for like fifteen minutes!” The spell that had settled over Tony broke and he reluctantly got up and answered the door to a grumpy Phil and a biracial teenage girl with frizzy hair and a similar expression. Tony stood to the side, he didn’t want an angry Phil on his hands.

“Tony, Director Fury has decided that Loki needs a supervisor. This is Agent Conley. She’s here to keep an eye on them.”

Agent Conley nodded at him. She might look like a normal teenager, but Tony didn’t trust any agent. Her hair was in a ponytail and she wore a tight leather jacket, a tshirt and black jeans. She didn’t look like someone Tony wanted to mess with, so he led them past the lounge, where the kids, who had been reading a book together, looked up.

Tony ignored them. He could explain it to them later. He stuck his head round the door to the kitchen.

“Hey, Lokes, got some visitors,” he told them. Loki looked up from reading a StarkPad, they were probably reading the news or something like that. He opened the door and Phil walked in. Agent Conley stood at the doorway until Loki stood up. She walked forward, smiling for the first time.

“Hi, I’m Thalia Conley. I’ve been assigned to make sure you do nothing wrong until further notice. The council will probably demand more conditions, but for now, I’m just here to keep an eye on things.” Loki did not seem panicked in any way and they shook her hand, smiling back.

“Um... I’ll show you where you can stay, I guess,” Tony said, leading the way out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

The stars shone brightly in the night sky. Thalia, once she had been shown to her room, talked to Phil before he left. She had talked to the kids, and appeared to be showing them some things on the StarkPad. Loki was standing looking up at the stars leaning on the wall, until Tony came and stood next to them.

They looked pretty good in this light. They had changed into some of the clothes that had been delivered, a green jumper, black jeans and sandals.

“Hey,” Tony said, alerting them to his presence. He held out a hand. “Dance with me.”

They danced to Elvia Presley’s Can’t Help Falling in Love. When the song drew to a close, Tony noticed something was wrong.

”Loki?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I live on kudos and comments!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been really ill these past few days. It was a real effort just staying awake long enough to write this.

Tony placed a gentle hand on Loki’s cheek. Loki had assumed an expression of... well... there was no feeling in their face. They looked completely emotionless. Tony figured that was what they did back on Asgard when they were with Thor. That wasn’t what Tony wanted. Or they deserved.

“Hey, Reindeer Games, you still with me?” Loki stopped looking so spaced out and looked at Tony in the eyes.

“What?” They said. Tony figured that that would be followed by... Tony didn’t want to think about it.

“You spaced out. If you don’t want to dance, that’s fine. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” Tony didn’t want them to associate him with Thor. That wouldn’t be ideal, considering that Thor was crazy and Tony just wanted a healthy relationship, if that was possible.

Tony led them to the sofa and sat with them on it, Taylor Swift playing in the background. He restrained himself from putting his hands on their knees, and instead he just sat there nervously.

“I apologise. Whenever I had to dance with Thor, he tried to talk to me, so I learnt to zone out, so I didn’t have to listen to him”

“Hey,” Tony covered Loki’s hand with his. “Don’t apologise for being uncomfortable with something. Especially something like this. I’m not Thor, okay?”

Loki took a breath before speaking. “Okay. Thank you, Stark.”

Tony let out a breath that he had been holding while Loki had been talking. “Great.” He looked at the time. It was nearly one in the morning and Tony decided that they should probably go to bed.

“Hey, it’s getting pretty late. We should go to bed.” Loki nodded, and they parted their ways at their respective doors. If Loki happened to sleep better with another person by them, that was alright, and if Loki had snuck into tony’s room to sleep half an hour later, that was alright too.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

When Loki woke up, they were slightly confused. They had not slept in a bed with another person for nearly a week, and if they would be sharing with anyone, it would be Thor. But this person didn’t feel like Thor. Their arm was not heavy, and their hand was holding Loki’s, while Thor would have his arm draped across their stomach, to ensure that they could not escape.

“Mmm... morning Reindeer Games,” Tony said from behind them. He removed his arm, and Loki sat up.

“Good morning Stark,” they replied.

“Hey, call me Tony,” he said.

Loki swung their legs over the side of the bed. “Very well... Tony,” they said. They didn’t quite understand why Tony was so adamant about this, but it seemed important to him, and Loki didn’t think it would be a good idea to disobey.

They stood up, stretching. They had gotten a better night’s sleep than they had in a long time. They walked to their room to get dressed.

Tony put his head back on the pillow and sighed. He didn’t mean to scare them or anything like that. They were even more fragile than Tony thought. He’d have to be more careful around them.

“Sir, Agent Coulson is on the line.”

“Ugh, fine, fine,” Tony got up and picked up his phone.

“Hey, Phil, what is it?”

“We need you and Loki back at headquarters in two hours,” Phil said. He sounded really tired.

“Geez Phil, gotten any sleep lately?”

“Tony, just be there,” he said.

“Fine, fine,” Tony said. He hung up. Guess it’s time to tell Loki the bad news, he thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please leave comments and kudos!
> 
> Updates are going to slow down until I get better. I’m sorry this chapter was so bad.
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	7. Chopping and Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pancakes and discussions.

“Ugh, God, not how I thought my day would go,” muttered Tony as he and Loki pulled up to the Avengers complex.

“Honestly, Tony, you thought that you would spend today in your den, testing a machine with no qualms about your personal safety.” Loki stated dryly from beside him.

Tony glanced at him. Over the past week, Loki’s attitude had slowly returned. They smiled more often and they and Tony had made breakfast together.

Tony was proud for being able to grant the children their first pancake experience. He made four at a time and handed them out. The first batch went to Loki and Theo, and he had only just turned around to put more butter on the pan that he felt a tug on his trouser leg.

He looked down at Theo, who held up her empty plate and he said, “My God, you want more?”. She nodded.

“Well, okay then,” he put the plate on the side and continued to make the pancakes. Theo went back to her seat beside Loki, who was watching the news.

A flick to the side of Tony’s head brought him to the present. They had arrived and Loki had already gotten out of the car.

“Tony, are we going or not?” They asked him.

“Oh, yeah, let’s go,” he got out of the car and together they walked to meet Director Fury, who was waiting for them.

“Back so soon, Mr Stark?” asked Director Fury.

“You know, I’m just here because Phil called me in,” Tony bit back. He had only had two cups of coffee today and was seriously in need of a third. He just wanted to know what they wanted and get it over with.

“Well, the council wants a quick word with Loki, and if there is one thing I can deliver on this month, this is it,” Fury said to them. He led them inside.

They reached the conference room without incident, apart from the one moment that they bumped into Agent Barton in the hallway.

When Clint caught sight of them, he walked towards them.

“Why are they here?” He asked Director Fury without a glance at Tony.

“Agent Barton, the council has called them in for a meeting. I’d leave them alone if I were you.” The look Fury gave Clint genuinely scared Tony.

Suddenly Loki bumped into him. They were shaking slightly and they had drawn their arms in over their stomach. He put an arm around their shoulders.

“Hey, Reindeer Games, you alright?” He asked them.

Hearing Tony’s voice seemed to bring them out of their trance. They took a deep breath. “Yes, yes, I’m fine.”

“Okay, well, we need to go, if Fury can stop glaring for one second.” Tony looked at Director Fury and they made eye contact. The anger in Fury’s eyes scared Tony. That must have been what spooked Loki, maybe it reminded them of Thor.

Fury turned and continued walking down the corridor. Tony took Loki’s hand and they followed him. Tony ignored Clint’s sound of surprise. He could wait. For now, Tony just wanted to get this over and done with.

In the conference room, seven men and women were waiting for them.

“Council, Tony Stark and Loki Laufeyson,” Director Fury said. The council members sat down and the woman at the head of the table gestured for them to sit. Loki took the seat at the other end of the table, facing the woman. Tony and Fury sat facing each other.

“Laufeyson, we have called you here today to discuss the conditions of your sanctuary here on Earth. You have previously been a threat to Earth and we do not wish for it to happen again.”

“Yes, I agree with that,” Loki said.

The other council members, who had until that point, been looking bored, turned to Loki.

“Then what are you here for, if not to wreak havoc?” A man asked. Why would you ask that? Stupid question.

“Sanctuary. For me and my three children. Why would I ask for anything else?” Tony and Director Fury exchanged looks. If the council was going to waste their time asking stupid questions, why bother bringing them here?

The woman at the head of the table spoke again. “Moving on, the conditions are as follows: Loki must be given a tracker, Loki’s children must be educated in a school-“

“Wait, why?” Tony butted in.

“Tony, please be quiet,” Loki asked him. Looking at Fury, he shared the same sentiment.

“Fine, God, just asking a question,” Tony muttered.

The woman at the head continued. “Loki and their children must become US citizens and,” here she let out a sigh. “And Loki must choose a gender.”

“That makes no sense!” Tony said.

“Actually, it does make sense,” Loki said.

“What? How?” Tony asked them.

“Because it’ a pain to put a neutral gender on any identification,” Loki said.

“Ohhhh,” said Tony.

“Anything else, before we adjourn?” The lady asked the other council members.

“Um, maybe it would be easier if we moved to the tower. It would be easier for the kids to find schools and stuff like that.”

“That would be a good idea, Mr Stark,” the woman said. “Anything else?” Everybody shook their heads, so she said, “Meeting adjourned.” Everybody stood up and left, talking quietly. Tony smiled at Loki, who returned it shakily.

“Oh yeah, Phil said that you should go to med-bay for a medical evaluation,” Fury told them.

“Of course,” Loki responds, but Tony can tell that they’re not really with it.  
“Hey, you alright Lokes?” Tony asks them.

“Oh, yes, I’m perfectly fine,” Loki said, snapping out of their strange spell.

“Okay, but don’t you start going crazy on me,” Tony told them. Loki nods, smiling at him. Tony looks over at Fury, who is smiling at them like crazy.

“What?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Updates will get back into a schedule when I go back to school because I usually do my writing on the bus to school.
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos!


	8. Escalation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki is not okay.

While Loki was in medical, Tony went to the area where the rest of the Avengers were.

”Hey, guys,” Tony said. He sat on a sofa and put his head in his hands. Steve sat beside him.

”You okay?”

”Fuck no, Steve. We worked with Thor. We were friends with him. We went to a party with him! The entire fucking time he was raping his fucking sibling!”

”I know, Tony. You’re not the only one that’s mad,” Steve said.

”Wait, who was Thor again?” Wanda asked.

”The man with long blond hair? That is Thor,” Vision said, walking in behind Wanda.

”Oh,” She said.

”Tony,” Loki said, entering the room. “Everything’s sorted.”

”Great,” Tony said. “We still have a while until we have to go back. I can introduce you to everybody?”

”Sure.”

Tony introduced Loki to Steve properly, and Vision, Wanda, Sam and Rhodey. They seemed to get on well with everyone, but Tony could see that they were starting to panic.

On the way back, Loki drew their knees into their chest and didn’t say a word the entire way back.

~~~~~~~~~~

5 days later

Tony was walking to his room after checking on the kids when he heard a sound coming from Loki’s room. He knocked on the door. It was very rare that he heard any sound coming from Loki’s room. They always tried to stay quiet.

“Hey, Lokes, you alright?” No response. Tony knocked. Again, no response. Tony opened the door. The room was in a state of disarray, clothes and pillows strewn about. The door to the bathroom was slightly ajar.

“Lo, you in there?” Suddenly, he heard a sob. He opened the door to find Loki sitting on the floor.

They were holding their arm, which was bleeding profusely. A pair of bloody scissors were next to them. They had taken off the green hoodie they were wearing that day, leaving them in just a thin t-shirt and jeans.

“Hey, Lokes, can you hear me?” Loki flinched but didn’t respond. Tony knelt down beside them, moving the scissors behind him. He put a hand on their head. They again flinched but didn’t pull away, and Tony began to stroke their hair.

“It’s Tony, Lokes. I’m not Thor, okay?” Loki’s crying quietened and they slowly took control of their breathing.

“Tony,” They said. Tony was taken aback by how broken they sounded.

“Yes?” Tony replied, he was genuinely worried, not only for their well-being, but because he had witnessed their moment of weakness. They would probably prefer if he dropped the subject. But despite only being here for about 1 and a half weeks, Tony really did enjoy the company. When Loki was comfortable in their situation, they made jokes, even if they were incredibly dark. Tony loved hearing about their mother and their young friend Lin.

“I’m not okay,” Loki said quietly.

“Yeah, I got that, but why didn’t you tell me? I’m worried about you,” Tony told them.

“If Thor had caught me like this, he would have beaten me for harming his wife,” Loki said. Damn, Thor really was a dick.

“True, but I’m not Thor, Loki. I care about you. I want you to be happy. You can talk to me about anything, okay?”

“Very well.”

“And now I have to go and hide the knives,” Tony joked. Loki chuckled weakly then began to cry again.

“Awww, Lokes,” Tony said.

Tony pulled Loki close to his chest, stroking his hair and shushing him as Loki cried. Tony could probably arrange for counselling when they moved to New York, after the kids started at school.

It was at that moment that Tony made a vow. He would never let Loki or their children be harmed again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve been going through a lot of stress lately, but I’m going to start hopefully getting counselling so it should be easier for me to get back into writing.
> 
> For every comment or kudos Loki gets a hug!


	9. The calm before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Moving day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is so short. I’ve had an awful week.

After what Tony would later call ‘The Bathroom Incident’, Tony and Loki spent most of their time playing cat and mouse. Loki tried to avoid him whenever they could. Loki spent as much time as possible with the children, much to the children’s delight. Tony didn’t want to discuss it in front of the kids, because they were so young. But when they boarded a plane to New York, and the children fell asleep, Loki had no escape from the conversation.

~~~~~~~

Loki was thankful that the children were asleep. They had avoided Tony a lot over the last three days, and they had noticed how stressed Tony had gotten. They felt guilty about it, but they had no idea what to say.

“So, Lokes, can we talk?” Tony said, sitting down next to them. He looked very determined to talk about this, much to their chagrin.

“Okay, Anthony,” Loki said, their voice getting quieter and quieter. Tony didn’t like the name change, but it wasn’t something he was going to be picky about.

“Hey, hey, hey, I won’t make you talk if you don’t want to, but we will have this conversation at some point,” Tony said, worried that he upset them. 

“Well, might as well have it now, when we have a chance,” said Loki, taking a shaky breath.

“Okay, so, how about we do it slowly,” Tony suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Loki replied.

“So, ten questions a day each until we’re satisfied?” Tony told him.

“Alright. Who starts?”

“Me. So, planning on cutting yourself again?”

“Possibly. It helps me feel less numb. Lets me know I’m still alive. My turn?”

“Yeah.”

“Why do you care about me and my children, Anthony?”

“Hmm... I’m not really sure. I think it’s because you and your kids are unprotected against basically everything, including Thor, and I don’t want something bad to happen to you.”

Loki smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Here, now, Tony could forget everything that happened. Everything that would hold Loki and Sophie and Steven and little Theo from being happy. The children were asleep, Loki and Tony were quickly becoming good friends.

And then Thor landed on the roof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for watching!  
> For every comment or kudos Thor gets punched in the face!


	10. Heimdall’s Regret

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thor is angry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? Another chapter?! Yeah, I was so happy that I got comments that I went on a massive writing spree. I’m halfway through chapter 11 as well.

When Thor had arrived back from the hunt, he was in an excellent mood. He had spent a wonderful 2 weeks in the woods with Sif and the Warriors Three. They had killed many animals, and the kitchen workers would be impressed.

He plans on telling Loki as well. She will smile, as she always does, and tell him that it’s wonderful. And then he will go and tell the twins, who will obviously want every detail. Sif and Thor walk through the streets as the others go to give the meat to the kitchen workers, and they have a short conversation with a girl that Thor thinks he has seen somewhere.

“Lady Lin, how are you?” Sif asked her. Lin’s eyes were red, as if she had been crying. She wiped her eyes before replying.

“Quite fine, Lady Sif. Might I enquire as to where you have been for the past weeks?” Lin asked.

“Hunting, in the woods over the hills. How is my wife faring?” Thor asked the young lady.

“Quite- quite well, Prince Thor,” Lin stuttered. Sif narrowed her eyes at Lin. She knew about the plan, but really, did she have to be so obvious?

“I am looking forward to seeing her. I wonder how the twins are doing?” Thor said, oblivious to the Stare War that was going on beside him.

A child suddenly started crying. Lin started. “Sorry, I must go. That is my son crying.”

“Farewell, Lady Lin,” Sif replied. Lin ran into the house and the door shut behind her. Thor and Sif returned to the palace, where they greeted Odin and Frigga.

“My son, how did your hunt go?” Odin asked him.

“Very well, father,” Thor replied. “I should go and see how Loki is faring.”

Odin nodded and a look of alarm appeared on Frigga’s face. Thor didn’t question it, however, and he continued to his chambers to see his wife.

As he walked, he contemplated how useful it would be to have another child. Perhaps a boy. One who would make a worthy opponent for the twins. But he knew something was wrong when he entered the room. The window was open, and neither Loki or Theodora were to be seen, despite this being the time when she was teaching Theodora. He stormed out, back to the hall, to question his father.

“Father, where is Loki? The window is open and she is nowhere to be seen.” Thor told his father. Frigga stifled a sob and ran out of the room. Thor and Odin watched her leave, then turned back to each other.

“I am unsure, my son,” Odin said. “I am sure that Heimdall can tell you.”

So that was where he went next.

“Heimdall, where is Loki?” Thor cried. Heimdall turned round, panic in his eyes.

“Have you not seen her?”

“No, not since I came back.”

“Oh.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“I will not tell you,” Heimdall said, defiance flashing in his eyes, which only made Thor more enraged.

“I order you to tell me!”

“NO!”

“AS PRINCE OF ASGARD, I ORDER YOU TO TELL ME!” Thor shouted, the sky casting over and lightning flashing across the sky.

There was genuine fear and sadness in Heimdall’s eyes as he relented. “Midgard. In the company of your shield brother, Tony Stark. I will tell you no more.”

“Allow me through,” Thor said, stepping forward.

“Why?”

“Because I must claim what is rightfully mine or I will kill you to get to it,” Thor responded.

Slowly, and with tears in his eyes, Heimdall opened the Bifrost. As Thor stepped through, all he could think of was how Theodora had asked him how the Bifrost worked and how like Loki she was.

~~~~~~~~~~

First, Thor landed in London. He had not seen Jane for a while, and though they had broken up, he wanted to see her.

He saw her and ran over. “Jane!” He yelled.

Jane turned from where she was talking with Darcy. She walked over, a furious expression on her face. She slapped him, hard.

”What the FUCK is wrong with you?” Jane yelled. “Why would you do that to Loki?” Jane was aware of Loki’s presence on Earth, after Erik had gotten a message about it.

”I did what I had to,” Thor responded.

Jane scoffed. “You’re not even sorry, are you?”

”No!”

Jane shook her head, disgusted. “Come back when you’re sorry.”

Thor left with even more anger than when he left. Then he landed on a plane.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For every comment and kudos, Heimdall gets forgiven by Loki.


	11. Chapter 11

When Thor landed on the roof, all Tony could think was “Shit.” A dent appeared in the roof. The plane started rapidly going down, but at least they were flying over land. Tony rushed to wake the kids up, as Loki seemed frozen by hearing Thor yelling outside.

“Hey, I need you guys to put your belts on,” Tony said, as the kids woke up. They were quick to follow orders, and Tony got back to his seat in time for another dent to appear in the roof.

“Everybody buckled up? I’ve calculated where we should land, and some agents are gonna meet us there.”

“Okay, thanks, Thalia,” Tony yelled.

“We’ll land in about thirty seconds, so hold on,” She said.

Some agents were waiting for them when they landed in a field.

“Thor, step away from the plane,” Director Fury shouted into a megaphone. Surprisingly, he did as he was told, and Director Fury prepares himself for an interesting conversation.

“Get Loki and the kids out of here,” he said to Phil. He nodded and walked off, Agent Barton and Captain Rogers with him. He would have preferred having Agent Romanoff instead of the others, but she was on another mission, and was unavailable at such short notice.

The door of the plane opened on the opposite side to Fury and Thor. The twins stepped out first, escorted by Thalia. Phil let out a sigh of relief, and walked forward to greet them.

“Safe landing then?” Phil asked her.

“Yep, thanks for meeting us here, Dad,” Thalia responded. “Is there a medic? I should get them checked.”

“Yeah, over there. Be careful, Naomi,” Phil said.

“I’m not Naomi on the job, Dad,” Thalia said, aware that the twins were listening. She took them by the hands and led them to the medics, who seemed very glad to see them all well.

Next out of the door was Theodora, whose head was bleeding profusely and looked slightly dazed.

“Holy shit,” Phil heard Clint growl. He had forgotten that Clint had kids. Clint walked forward, knelt down and asked if she was fine. In response, Theodora burst into tears. Clint went into dad mode, picking her up and taking her to the medics. Phil stepped out of the way, not wanting to deal with Clint when he seemed so angry.

Last out was Loki, carried by Tony. He looked as if he had suddenly aged thirty years, Phil thought.

“They got knocked unconscious in the landing,” Tony said. He carried Loki as if they weighed nothing. They probably did weigh nothing.

“Damn,” Steve said. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, and so am I,” Tony said sarcastically. He walked past them, in the direction of Clint and Thalia.

~~~~~~~~~

Nick watched as Thor walked towards him, a murderous expression on his face.

“Where is Loki?” Thor asked. Not anywhere you’ll get to them, he thought. Loki deserved a happy life after what they’d been through, and Nick and Phil were going to try their best to achieve that.

“A safe place,” he said, watching them leave out of the corner of his eye.

“Where?” Thor asked again, quickly becoming agitated.

“Somewhere you can’t get to him,” a voice said from beside him. Phil was standing there, barely containing his anger. Phil stepped forward and slapped Thor in the face. Hard.

Thor was too shocked to reply, so he didn’t react when Tony punched him in the face. He was wearing one of the gauntlets, so he drew blood and knocked Thor to the ground. Tony pinned him with one of his hands, then began to bash his face in. The anger on his face scared even Nick, and Phil stepped slightly behind Nick, holding onto his hands.

“That. Was. For. Loki,” He said, accentuating every word with a punch. That was enough, Nick decided, at least for now.

“Stark, that’s enough,” he said. Tony ignored him, continuing the assault on Thor’s face.

“STARK! That’s enough!” He yelled. Everybody in the field fell silent and Nick felt Phil tense behind him. Tony stopped reluctantly, standing up and stepping away.

“Wouldn’t want to ruin his face for everybody else to punch it, would we?” Nick asked Tony, who smiled grimly. Thankfully, Thor had been knocked unconscious by Tony’s... outburst, so it was easy to keep him under and lock him up until the issue was resolved.

“Right, let’s move out,” Nick said. He turned round, to where a car was waiting for them. Tony deactivated the gauntlets and got in the car with Nick and Phil.

“That was fun, wasn’t it?” Phil asked, probably to lighten the tense atmosphere.

“Yep,” Nick said. “But I don’t know what to do.”

“Why don’t we treat it as if this was a court case?” Tony said carefully from the back of the car.

“Before or after we beat the shit out of him?” Phil asked. Both Nick and Tony turned to look at him.

“Jesus fuck, Phil,” Nick said. “I knew you were angry, but not that much.”

“Times change, Nick. Times change.”

~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrived at the Avengers compound, Tony immediately got out of the car and headed towards medical.

“Hey, how are they?” Tony asked one of the nurses.

“Um, the twins sustained no injuries, but Loki and Theodora are both injured. Theo’s head is being stitched up and Loki’s just waking up.”

“Cool.” He left without a word and went straight to see Loki. The twins were sleeping in a chair together and Theo was curled up at Loki’s side.

He sat down on a chair and watched them breathe. He put a hand on their cheek and slowly their eyes opened.

“Hey,” he said to them.

“Hey,” they whispered.

“You alright?” He asked quietly. He didn’t want to wake up the kids.

“Yes, just shaken up,” they replied.

The door opened and Tony turned to see Clint standing in the doorway.

“Pepper said that she can take the kids back to the tower,” he told them.

“Cool, thanks Clint,” Tony replied. Once the kids and Clint had gone, Tony shut the door and sat on the bed.

“So, now what?” Tony asked them.

“I don’t know,” Loki said. “I just want to move on with the children and start a new life.”

“You deserve it,” Tony said sincerely. He didn’t want anything bad to happen to them. Loki smiled at him, the first in a while that was directed at him.

“Hey... can I kiss you?” He asked quietly.

“Yes,” Loki whispered.

~~~~~~~

Tony leaned forward and kissed them. It was chaste and closed-mouth. Loki could tell that he was holding back, but they couldn’t handle anything else. They knew that Tony would refuse to go any further until he was sure that they were okay with it. Finally, a nice relationship.

“Lokes?” They heard Tony ask.

“Yes, Tony?”

“When we get out, we should get dinner sometime.”

Loki smiled. “I would like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> For every comment or kudos Loki gets a thousand hugs and Thor burns in hell!


	12. The Tower Meetup

Nick watched the security cameras and sighed. Why did he agree to do this job? When one of the strongest members of the team ends up in a relationship with a god, he knows he needs to retire. When Tony finally left the room, Phil stepped in.

“Hi,” Phil said.

“Oh. I thought I killed you.” Loki said warily. They didn’t take to new people very quickly, then.

“Eh, I lived,” Phil told him. “How are you?” He took a seat near the bed and outstretched his hand. Loki shook the hand slowly.

“I’m fine,” they said quietly.

Phil nodded slightly. “Now, I’m here to talk to you about the trial.” Loki looked up.

“Trial?”

“Yes, to decide your future and how Thor will be punished. It will also discuss the future of your children.” Phil told them quietly.

“When is this taking place?”

“As soon as possible. Preferably, next week, once you’ve been discharged from the hospital. You took quite a bruising in that crash, you know.”

“Add that to the list of crimes Thor has committed,” Nick said, standing in the doorway. As he was listening to them, he decided to join the conversation. “We haven’t been introduced properly. I’m Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Loki said, fidgeting with their fingers.

“Right, back to the original topic,” Phil said, “Loki, anything you want to be addressed at the trial?”

“It wouldn’t be too hard to stage an accident,” Nick said quietly.

Phil turned around. “Nick! Really?” Nick chuckled and Loki smiled.

“Just a joke, babe,” he said. And then froze. Both Phil and Nick turned to Loki, who started laughing.

“I won’t tell anybody about what you just said,” Loki said, smiling gently. “You obviously value your private lives. I can keep secrets.”

Phil relaxed. “Okay, so, the trial?”

“My only request is that my children stay with me, no matter where we end up.”

“That can be arranged,” Phil said, standing up. “Have a good sleep, Loki.” He walked out, smiling at Nick as he went.

“Well, Loki, my only thing to tell you is that if Phil trusts you, I will as well. His judgement hasn’t been wrong so far. Don’t prove him wrong.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Loki had been discharged from the hospital, and they had spent a nice few days at Stark tower. The first night they were there, Tony hosted a movie night to get everyone introduced. Wanda was the first to arrive.

“Uh, hi. How is everyone?” She asked awkwardly.

“We’re good, Wanda. Come take a seat,” Tony said. She sat just as awkwardly between Loki and Theo.

“Are you the red magic lady?” Theo asked. Wanda looked down at her, and then at Tony.

“Is that really what you told them?”

“Well, I didn’t know what to tell them about you when I described everybody, so I told them that, and asked them to ask you for details,” Tony said ashamedly.

“Fine,” Bruce sighed.

“So you are the magic lady?” Theo asked curiously.

“Yep, that’s me,” Bruce said.

“Cool. Can you teach me?” She said, opening a book and searching for a page. Wanda turned to Loki and Tony, another questioning look on her face.

“Theo knows some magic. She could probably learn something from you,” Loki told her.

“Okaaay. What do you want to know?” Wanda asked her.

“Hey guys,” Clint said, entering with Natasha, Phil and Nick. “What movie are we watching?”

“Pirates of the Caribbean five,” Tony said. Clint crashed on the sofa next to the twins, who immediately turned round and started asking him questions, which he and Natasha, who was leaning on the back of the sofa, could answer. Phil took a seat next to Loki. Vision phased through the floor and sat down silently.

“Nice to see you again, Loki,” Phil said to them.

“You too,” Loki replied. “Is everybody here?” They said to Tony.

“Well, everybody apart from Steve, but he might not appear. Thalia’s doing something or other,” so yeah, that’s everybody.”

“Cool, so let’s do this thing,” Phil said.

“FRIDAY, play the movie,” Tony said.

During the movie, Phil fell asleep on Nick, Clint dropped the popcorn multiple times, and Wand and Theo snuck off halfway through to do more magic. Once it was over, and the end credits scene had rolled, almost nobody was paying attention, apart from Loki and Nick, who apparently had never watched a movie before in his life.

“Okay, so, did everybody enjoy that?” Tony said. By this point, it was less of a movie night and more of a meet up plus a movie.

“That was fun, thanks Tony,” Natasha said. Everybody gradually left, and the twins went to bed. Theo was in bed, after Vision took Wanda home, which left Loki and Tony alone in the room.

“That was fun,” Loki said.

“Yeah, we still on for tomorrow?” Tony asked.

Loki smiled. “Of course.” They shared a quick kiss and then went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you guys want this to be a series? Because I have an entire plot line, but if nobody wants it, then I won’t bother.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> For every comment or kudos Tony and Loki can have a healthy relationship!


	13. Truly Not Alone

Tony didn’t think he’d ever been this nervous for a date before. He had taken an hour to choose the location, which was a nice restaurant about five minutes from the tower. He was terrified that he would say something wrong, and he’d lose Loki’s friendship. He looked in the mirror. He didn’t think he looked too bad. He was wearing a simple white shirt and black trousers. He smashed his nerves down with a hammer, and walked to the common area, where Loki was waiting for him.

“Chose to be a woman, then?” Tony asked.

“Of course, I have to be female when we’re out, people might know who I am,” She replied. She wore a green silk blouse and a short black shirt. She had a jacket too. Smart. Tony looked at the time. Eight o’clock. The reservation was for eight thirty, so it would be a good idea to leave.

“Shall we go, then?” Tony asked. Loki nodded and smiled.

“Of course,” she replied.

They went downstairs to the garage. Tony led the way to a red sports car and opened the door. He ushered Loki in.

“Milady,” He said jokingly, and Loki laughed.

“Very funny, Tony,” She replied. He shut the door and got in the car.

“Think the kids will be ok on their own?” He asked.

“They aren’t on their own, Tony. I have faith that Pepper and Thalia can keep them occupied until their bedtime,” Loki said as they emerged onto the road.

“Fair enough,” Tony said. “When will the kids start school?”

“Phil told me that their first day has been postponed until after the trial,” Loki answered.

“Are you glad that they’re going to school?” He asked. He knew that some parents had separation issues, and he wasn’t sure how Loki would face being separated from the kids.

“I won’t freak out, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Loki said. How did she know that? “I’m happy for them. I want them to grow up here, on Midgard, without any expectations or people to judge them. Going to school will help them become better people.”

“Fair enough,” Tony said. “I like your reasoning, Reindeer Games. Oh, wait, this is the turning.”

They arrived at the restaurant and they sat at their table comfortably.

“This is very nice,” Loki commented.

“Mmhmm,” Tony said, sipping on his wine. “This is good.”

Loki smirked. “You still need to drive us home, Tony.”

Tony nearly choked. “Oh, yeah.” He put the wine on the table. He waved the waiter over and asked for lemonade instead. “Thanks for the reminder, Lokes.”

“You are welcome, Tony,” Loki said. They sat in silence for a few moments, contemplating the menu, until the waiter arrived.

“What would you like to eat?” The waiter asked.

“Oh, um, I’ll have a steak,” Tony said. He looked over at Loki, who looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “Same thing?” He asked her. She nodded. “Yeah, same for her,” he said to the waiter.

“So,” Tony said, after the waiter had left, “What are you planning on doing for the trial?”

“I don’t know,” Loki replied. “I’d rather be away from the city. It feels too busy for me.”

Tony shrugged. “That’s fair. You’d rather raise you kids in a calm environment away from a busy city like New York.” He took a sip of his lemonade, then nearly spat it out when he saw them. “What the actual fuck.”

He watched as Nick Fury and Phil Coulson took seats opposite each other at a table for two right next to them.

Nick caught sight of them as well. “Shit.” Phil looked over, but his reaction was a lot more warm than Nick’s was.

“Loki, Tony, hi, how are you guys?” He asked, mainly to Loki, as they both ignored the glares being exchanged by Tony and Nick.

Loki sighed. “Boys, please. We are all here to enjoy a pleasant evening, and we shouldn’t ruin it by arguing.” Phil nodded in agreement and took Nick’s arm.

“Nick, please,” He said to him. Nick looked at Phil, and, giving one last flare to Tony, took a seat opposite Phil. “Honestly,” Phil said, shaking his head and looking over at Loki. She shook her head and smiled.

The waiter arrived with Tony and Loki’s food, and they ate, having a pleasant conversation, while doing their best to ignore Phil and Nick, who were holding hands and smiling at each other. Tony though it was immensely odd, but Loki thought it was sweet, the fact that they had such a nice and meaningful relationship.

“Oh, yeah, Lokes,” Tony said. Loki looked up. “I was thinking, maybe it would do you some good to start counselling or something like that?”

Loki looked confused. “What is a counsellor?”

“Oh, someone who helps you with mental issues and stuff like that,” Tony told her. Loki nodded.

“Yes, I would appreciate that,” She said. “Someone... to talk to. That would be nice.”

“Perfect, so I’ll book an appointment after the trial, then.” Tony said. Loki nodded. They finished their meal, paid for it, and they left the restaurant.

“So, not too drunk to drive me home, then?” Loki smirked.

Tony scoffed. “Oh, shut up, Reindeer Games.”

~~~~~~~~~~~

When they got back to the tower, all was quiet.

“Hey, come with me,” Tony said. He took Loki’s hand and led her upstairs. He opened the door to his bedroom and they stepped inside.

Tony kissed Loki gently. “When you were with Thor, did he ever... try to make you feel good?” Loki snorted.

“It was a punishment, Tony. He never would have pleasured me.”

“Then, would you allow me the honour?” Tony asked.

“Of course,” Loki said, pressing a kiss to Tony’s lips. They maneuvered towards the bed. Tony lay Loki down on the bed. Loki’s hands went to the zipper of his trousers, but Tony held her hands back.

“Tonight is all about you,” He said, pressing a kiss to her soft lips. He pulled her skirt off her hips, along with her tights, shoes and panties. “Tell me if you want to stop, okay?” He said.

He left one last kiss on her lips before moving down, slowly moving her legs apart. He saw her pussy, already slightly wet. He smiled slightly and licked a thick stripe across it. He heard Loki gasp beneath him, so he continued. He licked around the folds, hearing Loki moan and gasp. He pushed his tongue inside of her, which was when it changed.

“No, stop, no!” Loki cried, kicking her legs. Tony pulled away. He had anticipated that this might happen, so he came back up and pressed a kiss to her lips.

“I won’t do anything you don’t want me too,” he comforted her. He picked up her panties from the floor and she put them on. They fell asleep intertwined with each other, neither of them wanting to think about the future, but trying to savour the moment, the safety, and the feeling of truly not being alone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> Leave comments and kudos for healthy relationships!


	14. The Trial

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter yet! I've spent like three sleepless nights writing this and I am proud.

In the morning, Tony rose before Loki did. He dressed as quietly as humanly possible. As he was about to leave the room to get breakfast, he turned back around. He sat on the edge of the bed, watching Loki breathe. At some point in the night, they had shifted back to their neutral form. He looked at the scars that crisscrossed their back and thighs. They were breathing peacefully, their face calm. He heard noise, and figured it was time to get up before anybody broke something.

He walked to the kitchen, where the twins were playing a game on a StarkPad, and Thalia was talking to Theo while making fried eggs. Thalia turned around and smiled at him.

"Good morning, Prince Charming! Is Sleeping Beauty joining us anytime soon?" She asked with a smirk on her face.

"Very funny, and I left Loki asleep in bed," Tony said. Thalia grunted in response and placed the last of the eggs onto the plates, along with toast.

"Breakfast, everybody!" She yelled. The twins let out a cheer and ran to get their plates. The elevator door opened and Bruce stepped into the room.

 

“Should we get there early?” Tony asked.

"Well, there might be a surprise for people who are early. Natasha said that she agreed something with Agent Coulson. Even Barton is going to try to be early, and that never happens," she said. Tony's memory jogged at the mention of Phil. He made sure that the kids weren't paying attention before he spoke.

"On the topic of SHIELD agents, did you know that Phil and Fury are a couple?" He asked. "How did you know that?" Thalia asked carefully. Tony shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, me and Reindeer Games went on a date yesterday, and they were at the table next to us. I don't trust Fury much, and it was really weird the entire time," he said.

"I was aware that they are a couple," Thalia said.

Tony was surprised. "Really?"

A small voice piped up. "Of course she was," Theo said, who was still wearing a rather large plaster on her head after the plane crash. She must have tuned into the conversation at some point. "She is their daughter, after all," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why do you know that?" Tony cried, completely bewildered.

"Because Thalia called him dad after the plane crash," Sophie butted in.

"Wow, kids, way to throw me and my parents under the bus," Thalia muttered.

"Good morning, everybody," said Loki, alerting everybody to their presence.

"Loki, did you know that Phil and Nick were a couple before last night?" Tony asked them. They blushed slightly as they remembered some of the other events from the night before, but they answered the question quickly.

"Yes, I did."

"What?! How did you know, and how did I not?" Loki shrugged.

"Nick made a slip in front of me. I didn't tell you because they both value their privacy, and I respect that," they said calmly, eating their eggs. Tony shrugged.

"Fair enough. Wait, Thalia, when do we need to leave if we want to do this surprise thing?" He asked her.

"At least an hour before the actual trial starts," Thalia said. "So in like, about an hour."

"Great," Tony said, looking around at everybody. "We can meet back here when we're ready to leave. I'll wash up the dishes and tell Pepper that we're leaving early."

"No need to tell Pepper," Thalia said. "I've already told her what the surprise is, and she's joining us."

"Well, great. Let's get this show on the road, people," Tony said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Loki followed the children to their room.

"Mum, what should we wear?" Theo asked. She had opened her wardrobe and was looking at her selection of clothes.

"Something smart-casual," Loki said. Theo nodded.

"Soooo, something like this?" She asked, pulling out a pale purple jumper, white shirt and black skirt.

"Yes, that's perfect," Loki replied. They were proud of their youngest child. She truly was a genius, Bruce had told them. For four years old, she was amazing at basically everything, with the slight side effect of annoying people by accident. They noticed that Sophie was still puzzling over what to wear, after Steven and Theo had both gone to get dressed. They knelt beside her.

"Still thinking?" They whispered, looking at her clothes. She nodded, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Perhaps I could be of assistance?" They heard. They looked up to see Pepper standing in the doorway.

"Miss Potts, of course," they said. Pepper smiled, walking forward.

"My friends call me Pepper," she replied. "You can go and get dressed too. I can help this young lady," she said, smiling down at Sophie, who smiled back.

"Thank you, Pepper," they said. They went to their room, selecting a plain green shirt and black trousers. They pulled on some socks, shoes, and a simple black jacket. They pulled their hair into a ponytail, and walked to the communal area, where the others were waiting.

Tony was wearing a white shirt, back trousers and a jacket, just like Bruce. Thalia was wearing a black dress, and she looked amazing in it. Pepper was wearing a simple white blouse and skirt. She also carried a large bag.

"What's in the bag?" Loki asked.

"Something to do with the trial," Pepper said.

"She won't tell us," Sophie said. Loki turned around. She was wearing a red dress, and a yellow cardigan. Her hair was pulled into a simple plait, while Theo's hair went from pale purple to light blonde in a matching plait. The plaster was hidden by a fringe, but easily could be exposed if need be.

"Good work, Pepper," they said, turning to her. She smiled.

"Just part of the job," she said. Suddenly, Thalia's phone rang. She answered it quickly.

"Hey, dad," she said.

"Hi, Nao-Thalia," Phil said, quickly switching the name due to shouting heard in the background. "Are you guys ready to be picked up?"

"Yep, perfect timing," she said. Everybody heard a helicopter land.

~~~~~~~~~~

When they got to the helicopter, agents Romanoff and Barton were waiting for them. Theo ran forward and hugged Clint, who quickly hugged her back.

"Hey, kid, how's the head?" He asked, smiling at her.

"It's good," Theo said.

Natasha stepped forward to help the twins into the helicopter. They quickly sat in their seats and did as they were told.

"This feels weird," Natasha said to Loki.

"Why, Agent?" They asked.

"The twins look up to me as an authority figure. They act like soldiers around me. I find it odd," she said honestly, as they watched Tony and Clint reconcile their slightly fragile relationship.

"They were raise as soldiers," Loki said. "I rarely saw them. I spent much more time with Theo," they explained, choking up slightly. They regretted missing out on so much of their childhoods.

"Hey, don't cry," Thalia said. She was listening in on the conversation. "At least you can raise them from now on, though." Loki nodded.

"Yeah."

 

"So, Loki, huh?"

"Yeah."

Clint looked at him. "I didn't like them, at first."

Tony snorted. "Yeah, I know." He was still angry with Clint, over the whole original agreement. He wanted to protect Loki, no matter what, and Clint was acting incredibly inconsiderate. He was still willing to hear him out, though.

"Now, though, I think they're amazing. They've coped with so much, and they really do care for their kids. I'm glad that Nat got the whole surprise thing set up."

"What is the surprise?" Tony asked. He was genuinely curious.

"Wait and see."

~~~~~~~~~~

They quickly arrived at SHIELD headquarters. They were, of course greeted by Director Fury and Agent Coulson. Once they were all out of the helicopter, Director Fury stepped forward.

"Loki, you and your kids can come with me. We have some things to sort out in regards to your citizenship," Fury said. Loki said a quick goodbye to Pepper and Tony, and left with the children.

"So, everybody else here for the surprise?" Phil asked. Everybody nodded their heads. "Excellent. Come with me."

He led the group downstairs to a door that Steve was standing outside of. He was leaning against the wall, but he stood up when he saw them approaching.

"He hasn't escaped?" Phil asked Steve. He shook his head, all while glaring at Tony. "Great," Phil said, pushing the door open.

Thor sat on a chair in the middle of an empty room. He was restrained and awake, although silent.

"What?!" Tony yelled. He didn't mind, but seriously?

"Hey, Dad," Thalia said to Phil. "Can we beat him up?" Phil nodded.

"Not too much, though. Maybe don't do anything too obvious to his face," he said. "Hey, Pepper, maybe it's time to show everybody what's in the bag." Pepper put it on the floor and unzipped it. Inside was brass knuckles, Tony's gauntlets and some makeup.

"What's with the makeup?" Steve asked.

"Can't have people knowing we've just beaten up Thor for our own enjoyment, can we?" Natasha said, not even taking anything from the bag. She walked in front of him, raising her clenched fists to be level with his face, and rapidly punched him about twenty times in the face in succession. Phil smirked, stepping forward after Natasha stepped aside, and he gave him his twenty punches.

A knock on the door made everybody turn around. James Rhodes poked his head through the door.

"Sorry I'm late. Pepper told me what happened, and I wanted to join in." Pepper smiled.

"We're only just getting started," she said, putting the brass knuckles on her hand and passing another pair to Bruce. "Come and join us." Rhodey took the last pair of brass knuckles, and stepped in line.

Thalia was after Phil, and landed seven punches in Thor's forehead. His face was swollen and bruised, but Bruce had brought an anti swelling cream to put on his face to hide the evidence. Clint stepped in next, landing five punches to his face that made everybody wince.

Pepper then punched him in the left cheek five times, and stamped on his foot with her heels for good measure. Steve ignored his face, which was now almost completely unrecognisable, and punched him in the chest. Rhodey did the same, causing a Thor to cry out in pain.

And finally, it was Tony's turn. He activated the gauntlet, grabbed his shirt, and punched him in the face, over, and over, and over, and over...

"Tony, that should be enough," he heard Phil say. He stepped away, shocked at what he had just done. His gauntlet was now completely covered in blood.

"I think we're past the point of anti-swelling cream," Thalia said shakily.

"Nothing a good glamour won't fix," said a blonde woman, stepping into the room. Following her was a young blonde woman and a bulky man wearing gold armour.

Thor let out a cry. "Mother! Help me!"

Frigga laughed. "You are an awful man, Thor Odinson. I am ashamed to be your mother. You deserve everything coming to you." She cast a glamour over Thor's face, making it appear normal.

"It will wear off after the trial," the Asgardian queen told the humans. "These are my friends. Lin, a friend of Loki's who kept them company while they were in captivity, and Heimdall, who wants to apologise to Loki for his wrongdoing."

She nodded to all of them, then faltered as she saw Tony. "I wish to talk to you in private." She turned to Phil. "Is there any such place?" Phil nodded, and led them to a deserted room.

Once Phil had left, presumably to get things prepared for the trial, Frigga stepped forward. "You are the man who is in love with my child."

Tony was quite shocked. "Y-yes, my queen." Frigga smiled.

"You are a very brave man, Tony Stark. You have guarded my child and my grandchildren with your life, and I must thank you." Tony nodded. "And now, I simply ask what your intentions are."

Tony cleared his throat. "I want to show Loki and their children all the things that life has to offer, and give them a good chance at life."

Frigga nodded. "Treat the children like they were your own."

"Your Highness, with all due respect, I already feel like they are."

~~~~~~~

Eventually the group went upstairs to see Loki and Nick. They were in one of the meeting rooms talking over some documents when everybody came in. When Loki saw Frigga, their entire face lit up.

"Mother!" They cried, hugging her tightly. Frigga hugged them back, smiling. Phil walked over to Nick and they began a quiet conversation. Loki spotted Lin as well, and immediately hugged her.

"Tony, this is my friend Lin," they said to him.

"You all look so pale, what happened?" They asked innocently. It had been apparent to everybody who was involved in the 'surprise' that Loki shouldn't know, at least not for a while.

"It's nothing, Loki. Don't worry about it," Thalia said warmly. Loki smiled at her, they knew something was up, they just weren't going to pick on it.

"Okay, people, enough with the meet and greet, let's get this over and done with," Fury said, stepping away from Phil. Tony was looking forward to this. Thor was finally going to get what he deserved.

Everybody filed out of the room until only the Asgardians were left. Pepper had taken the kids with her to another room where they could wait until the trial was over. Loki turned to Frigga and the others. Frigga smiled, and then Loki noticed Heimdall.

He knelt before them and said, "I apologise for my actions, Loki. I informed Thor of your whereabouts and let him leave Asgard." He kept his head bowed, not wanting to see their reaction.

"I do not blame you, Heimdall," Loki said. They knew firsthand how angry Thor could get.

"But I do," Tony said, stepping into the room. He had heard the conversation and he was angry. This man was partly responsible for Loki's pain.

"Tony, you don't understand," Loki responded, stepping in front of him.

"Understand what? He's the one that told Thor where you where, it's his fault!" Tony yelled.

"Under the threat of death, no doubt. You're acting like a hypocrite, Stark. I'm not the only one Thor is willing to abuse," Loki replied calmly. Tony stopped. Loki called him Stark. They hadn't done that since about one week after they arrived. They had realised that they could trust him. That would mean that Loki no longer trusted him. That wasn't Tony's plan.

"Sorry. I overreacted. This whole thing with Thor... it's made me really protective of you and the kids. Sorry, dude," Tony said. Loki turned to Heimdall.

"You have been forgiven, Heimdall," they said. Heimdall stood and nodded to them. Loki smiled back and turned to Tony.

"We should go, shouldn't we?" Tony nodded, and they left the room together.

~~~~~~~

"Order, Order!" The judge cried and everybody in the courtroom went silent. Loki was standing with Tony, the others making a small crowd behind them. Thalia stood at Loki's shoulder, reminding them that that they were not alone. Thor was standing, handcuffed. They quickly began the trial.

"Thor Odinson, of Asgard, you have been charged with multiple accounts of spousal abuse, and multiple accounts of rape. How do you plead?" The judge asked.

"She deserved it! She-"

"How do you plead." The judge showed no sign of mercy.

Thor swallowed. "Guilty." There was no-one to defend Thor. No-one wanted to. There was whispering in the courtroom as the judge shuffled some pages.

"Are you alright?" Tony whispered in Loki's ear. They nodded stiffly. Seeing Thor was obviously having an affect on them. Tony slid a hand into theirs and interlaced their fingers. They relaxed slightly and the trial continued.

"Then, Thor, you are to return to Asgard. You may not return to Earth unless SHIELD requests your presence, and Loki approves of it." Thor's eyes flicked to Loki, and he glared at them. They backed up into Thalia, who wrapped an arm around their shoulders and glared back at Thor. Their attention was brought back to the judge when he continued.

"Loki may stay on Earth. It has been arranged for them and their children to live nearby New York, as the children may attend school there and still be safe. Loki and their children will be granted citizenship, and must act like law-abiding citizens. They will still be monitored by SHIELD, and supervised by an agent. Those are the decisions we have made."

There was no room left for discussion. Thor was escorted out by multiple people, presumably back to Asgard. As soon as Thor left the room, Loki fainted. Tony caught them, and lay them down on the floor.

"Must be the stress," Phil said, an unreadable expression on his face. Tony picked up Loki and faced Director Fury.

"I assume everything has been sorted?" Tony said to him. Fury nodded.

"Everything has been arranged. They're moving in two weeks. Conveniently enough, they're gonna be living right next door to Agent Barton," He said.

"Great, so this is where I leave. Bye, guys," Tony left the room with Loki in his arms, leaving everybody else to contemplate what just happened.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Hey, Pepper."

"What happened?" Pepper asked, looking at Loki.

"Fainted from stress," Tony said, resting Loki down on a seat.

"Are they gonna be okay?" A small voice said. Steven was clinging to his pant leg.

"Of course, Stevie. They just need some rest," he reassured him.

"Now that that's over, shall we go?" Pepper said.

"Yes, that would be a good idea," Loki said, coming to slowly.

"Perfect! Let's go home," Tony said.

~~~~~~~~~~

Th children fell asleep on the way home. Tony wasn't surprised. They had all had a weird day.

Tony hosted another movie night. This time everybody was there. Tony ordered pizza, and they all sat, watching Star Wars and talking like a big, happy family.

Loki just smiled and sat there, watching everybody talk, from Tony teaching Theo science, to Clint explaining Star Wars to the twins and Phil and Nick ignoring everything but the movie, cuddled together like a true couple.

This was where Loki found their peace, away from the demons of their past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed!
> 
> Leave comments and kudos for my self-esteem. Please. I'm questioning reality at the moment and my parents are useless.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything is fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it! The final chapter of this part.  
> Enjoy!

When everything was packed, it was time to say goodbye. Clint was taking them to their new home, a farm next door to Clint's family. Pepper had checked and double checked that everybody had what they needed, and still went to check that the Petersons, as they were now called, had everything.

"Lokes, did you remember your medication?" Tony asked her. Her eyebrows furrowed.

"I think so," she replied.

"Then what was this in the bathroom?" He asked. Loki snorted and took the bottle.

"Thanks, Tony," she said.

"This is why you need to check," Pepper yelled to the pair. Pepper was ensuring that Steven had remembered his toothbrush, and Bruce was giving Dora one last lesson about science. She held three large books, and her hair was short and black. Sophie was talking to Natasha about being an agent, which she found very interesting.

"People, let's go!" Clint said. He and Tony put the last suitcases in the trunk, and they were ready to move.

"I'll miss you, Reindeer Games," Tony said to her.

"We aren't even going that far away, and besides, you have my phone number," she said.

"I'll still miss having you and the kids around. Promise me you'll come over for movie night?" He asked her. He had gotten used to seeing the kids around, and Dora having a workbench in the lab.

"Of course, you silly human," she said.

"Well, then go and have fun, Lola Peterson!" He said, making fun of her new name.

Loki laughed, "I'll try my best, Tony." She walked over to the car and got in.

And with that they were gone. Tony was still going to see them, but not as often. He'd miss being Loki's protector, the one to calm them down after nightmares. Maybe, if things worked out, that might happen again.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the car, Loki and Clint sat in the front, while the children sat in the back. The twins were discussing who was better, Nat or Thalia. Sophie supported Nat, and Steven Thalia, and their conversation was quite funny for Clint and Loki to listen to. Dora, however, was reading a large book.

"Hey, kid, what'cha reading?" Clint asked her.

"A book," she responded.

"Yeah, I know that, what book?" He said, rolling his eyes. "She takes after you," he told Loki. She smiled and nodded.

"I'm reading a science textbook that Uncle Bruce gave me," she said. She turned a page, and it was unanimously decided that the conversation was over.

"Oookay then," Clint said.

"Hey, Uncle Clint, who do you like more, Auntie Nat or Thalia?" Sophie asked him.

Clint pulled a face. "I don't want to say, because either way could end badly for me." It would be a bad idea to take sides when both sides consisted on a demigod child and a woman capable of killing him in multiple different ways. They would never find his body.

"Hey, mum, where are we actually going?" Steven asked curiously.

"To our new home," Loki said. She had been expecting this conversation.

"Why can't we just stay in New York with Uncle Tony and Thalia?" Steven said.

"It's not safe," Loki replied.

"Why not?" He asked innocently. He wasn't present at the trial, he didn't know what Thor had done, and nobody was going to tell them.

"Because there are some people that don't like your mum, and you're less likely to run into somebody like that if you live in a small town," Clint said, saving Loki from answering him.

Steven shrugged. "Fair enough," he said, looking out of the window.

~~~~~~~~~~

They arrived at the house a few hours later, and Clint unlocked the door, handing Loki a key.

"I have the other one. Tony redid the house a bit. There's a vegetable patch out back. You can grow your own food. There should be enough space for the kids to grow stuff as well," Clint said.

"Thank you, Clint," Loki said genuinely.

"Yeah, well, I should probably go now. Me and my family live five minutes up the road. My wife'll probably come round with cookies or something," he said.

Loki smiled. "I look forward to it," she said. Clint nodded and drove off quickly.

"Mum, come look!" She heard Sophie yell from upstairs. She smiled and shut the door, making sure she had all the suitcases.

She looked around the ground floor. It was open plan, with wooden floor and pale green walls. The windows were large, giving it an airy feel. To the right of the stairs was an open doorway leading to the lounge, where she could see bookcases and two sofas. The kitchen was the other way, with a large white wooden dining table and chairs. She could see, past the stairs, a door that led to the expansive garden.

"Mum!" Loki sighed and began climbing the stairs.

"Coming!" Sophie was standing in the doorway to her room and looking in. There was a large window over the bed, where there was a pale yellow bedspread. There was a toy box in one of the corners, and a fluffy yellow rug adorned the floor. A white wardrobe stood by the bed. The curtains were pulled back, allowing a large amount of light to flood the room.

"You can go in, sweetheart," Loki said to her.

Sophie snorted. "Yeah, I know." She chucked her bag on the bed, taking off her shoes and chucking them under her bed. She began to put her things away, running downstairs to get her suitcase.

Loki moved on. Steven's room was next to Sophie's, identical in everything but colour, which was pale green. He had already begun unpacking, carefully hanging clothes in the wardrobe. A slight yelp brought Loki to look into Dora's room.

It was light purple, with a small bed away from the door. There was a desk, instead of a toy box, below the window, and many bookcases. Tony had obviously spent some money getting things for the house, because there were many boxes and books, and it seemed like a Tony had bought Dora about fifty Lego sets to build. Dora was sitting on the floor, rubbing her foot, after dropping a book on it. It was the same book she had in the car.

"What did you do, baby?" Loki asked, kneeling by her side.

"I dropped the book on my foot," she said. "It's not that bad, just hurts a bit." She shrugged and got up. "Uncle Tony left me some notebooks that I can do science and maths in. He said that he might be able to get me boosted a few years in school, if he's lucky." Loki nodded.

"Whatever makes you happy, Dora," Loki said. She left Dora to her own devices, knowing that she would be fine on her own. Loki stepped into her own room and smiled. The bed stood below a large window. The bedspread had different constellations on it. There was a desk and a computer, and a few bookcases. Loki noticed that there was a note on the bedside table. She picked it up and read it.

'Dear Loki,  
Enjoy your new home and your new life.  
N & P Fury'

Loki smiled at that. The note was a sweet touch from a sweet couple. Phil had given her his phone number and promised to keep in touch.

~~~~~~~~~~

That night, as the family ate dinner and discussed school, Loki looked at her beautiful family, and was glad that she and her beautiful family were safe. Here, on Earth, she could build a new future for them all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that is the end of part one! Part two should be starting as soon as I've written the first few chapters. A few weeks at most.
> 
> Leave comments and kudos please! Some ideas in the comments would be greatly appreciated! I need some inspiration sometimes.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


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